Jack London's masterpiece, tells the gripping tale of a dog named Buck who is wrenched out of his life of ease and luxury to become a sled dog in Alaska. Drawing on his wolf heritage, Buck must fight for survival in an alien environment.

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Publisher's Summary

Jack London's masterpiece tells the gripping tale of a dog named Buck who is wrenched out of his life of ease and luxury to become a sled dog in Alaska. Drawing on his wolf heritage, Buck must fight for survival in an alien environment.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Call of the Wild to be better than the print version?

I would not consider the audio edition better, but it works for me because I just dont have time to sit down and and read a book. But I can listen to an audio book while I drive to work.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Buck, because he was the HERO.

Which character – as performed by Mike Boris – was your favorite?

No favorite. It was an awsome performance. He made the characters come to life.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Oh so many, from when buck was being beaten by the man in the red sweater, to when he pulled that slead the 100 yards. and when John Thorten saved his life when he was near death, I loved the way he delt with that man, that ax handle rap on the hand. I felt that. The love that John thorten and Buck shared. I have listen to it two times now, and I will agian..

The opening sentence is a classic, foreshadowing the entire tale. Some anthropomorphism here, but it doesn't destroy a great adventure story, a look into the past, the Gold Rush in Alaska. The relationship between Buck and Thornton reminds us of how close man and dog can be, and the story never flags until the satisfying ending when Buck, too powerful a force to remain in civilization, returns to the wild.

America is a dog obsessed nation. Jack London, in “Call of the Wild”, sets the pace for hundreds, if not thousands, of well-trodden stories about dogs.

London’s story is set in the time of Alaska’s gold rush. Dog sledding and the value of dogs increased in proportion to a ballooning Alaskan population. Buck, after being dog-napped, is sold to various owners in Alaska to serve the burgeoning demand for improved transportation. Buck is described as a big, growing fierce, intelligent dog. He learns how to deal with sub-zero temperatures by observing and copying the habits of other dogs. London describes how Buck learns to dig a hole in sub-zero temperatures and curl into a ball to protect himself.

London shows humans to be ethnocentric users of the animal kingdom. (This is not a surprise based on sentient beings’ history of abuse and slavery.) On a literal plane, Buck is a dog that is exploited by humans to drive sleds across the snow and ice of Alaska. Buck competes in the animal kingdom for supremacy by defeating or cowering other dogs to become a pack leader. However, Buck is chained to a life of toil by man’s domination of the non-human animal kingdom. These two forms of existence meld into one when Buck is saved by a human from abuse by his last owner; i.e. Buck becomes free to choose; free to return to the wild or stay with his human savior, not as a subject of domination but as a companion. Buck chooses to stay until his savior is murdered by a fictional tribe of Alaskan Indians. The “Call of the Wild” tears Buck away from humans because the wild is ironically more predictable than human civilization.

London’s story is about a dog but it is also a story about the best and worst of human beings. Whether dogs have human feelings, or humans project their feelings on dogs, or dogs are just other sentient beings is not important but freedom to choose is shown by London to be a preeminent condition of all sentient life.

The narrator Mike Boris brings new vigor and emotional depth to this classic tale. I only wish he would be asked to read more of the Jack London catalogue. For some odd reason, I had postponed reading this short book over five decades. Had I but known what a truly moving psychological journey it would take me on ~ an episodic narrative packed with a host of interesting characters, both canine and human ~ I would have devoured this story long ago. Five stars all the way.

Any additional comments?

Pitch perfect narration, His work truly enhanced an already masterful tale. I will keep my eyes opened for the name Mike Boris in the future.

Absolutely. It's one of those beautifully written, beautifully performed stories that can continue to touch. It's a product of a different time, so the style and some of the characterizations take getting used to, but it's still profoundly eloquent and moving.

What other book might you compare The Call of the Wild to and why?

I'd have to compare it to other classic literature. And, so far as the classics on audio go, this is the best one I've listened to so far!

What does Mike Boris bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

There's a sense of personality to Buck and a sense of urgency to the story that otherwise might be lost in the narrative. This story is written to be read aloud--it's almost an epic poem but in narrative rather than lyrical form. Read on the page, it just wouldn't be the same. Mike Boris' performance is excellent, his voice just the right timbre for the story.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Neither laugh nor cry, no. But it did make me slap my forehead and ask myself why I hadn't read this before. Thank goodness THIS was my first exposure to it!

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